Currently that is running below last year, although the trend is improving. Williams de Broe expects profits of pounds 11.2m this year, for a forward multiple of 11. Eurocamp’s leading market shares could attract a bidder, but investors should not hold their breath Unattractive.. Nightfreight recently bought a rival distributor called Pacemaker, so it was appropriate that the express parcels and freight forwarding group should give investors a minor heart murmur yesterday by delivering lower-than-expected profits. The shares fell 14.5p to 58p, compared to their 1994 flotation price of 105p, on news of an 8 per cent rise in pre- tax profits to pounds 5.01m on sales 42 per cent higher at pounds 81.2m in the year to November 1996. Worse, earnings per share dipped slightly to 6.7p from 6.8p while the final dividend was held for a total payout of 3.55p (3.38p).
The company warned that volumes in the core parcels business were about three points below expectations.

Bad weather and what Peter Johnson, the chairman, called “the recent downturn in manufacturing output” were blamed. Nor has Nightfreight, with 46 depots, been able to pass on higher fuel costs to customers.But Nightfreight’s problems go back to the loss of a lucrative three- year newspaper distribution contract with the Independent and the Independent on Sunday. Although other contract publishing deals have been struck, notably with WH Smith, Nightfreight admits it has been unable to make up the shortfall in both volumes and margins.To make up for the lack of critical mass in contract publishing, Nightfreight is looking at a sizeable acquisition, though the balance sheet is already looking stretched, with gearing set to stay at over 90 per cent this year.At least Nightfreight’s recent acquisitions are bedding down well – so well that the earn-out deal for freight forwarder Hay Pollock is being renegotiated due to a conflict of interest arising from Ron Sullivan, the principal vendor, also sitting on Nightfreight’s board.Brokers think Nightfreight will do well to make pounds 5.7m this year, implying a forward p/e ratio of just seven The group’s lack of focus suggests only limited upside.. Euro Disney, operator of the Disneyland Paris theme park, has parted company with its finance director, Xavier de Mezerac, as part of a wider boardroom reshuffle. Philippe Ravanas, a company spokesman, said the changes were part of plans started three years ago to increase the integration of the group’s senior management.
“Within this context, Xavier said he wanted to pursue other opportunities and I think he will announce something in the next few days.”He denied any suggestion of a boardroom rift between Mr de Mezerac and Philippe Bourguignon, chairman and chief executive, or Gilles Pelisson, executive vice-president, who will temporarily take on the finance director’s role.Mr Ravanas said both of the remaining senior executives had been actively involved in the financial aspects of the business and did not anticipate any problems before a new finance director was appointed. However, he conceded that the role would be “re-defined” first.Mr de Mezerac’s departure came as a surprise to some observers, although shares in the group still rose 0.5p to 118.5p yesterday.Last month Euro Disney reiterated a warning first made in November that 1997 would be difficult.Mr Bourguignon said the decision to peg entry charges for the second year running could have a “temporary detrimental impact on margins”..

One of the most bitterly contested takeovers in recent years ended in victory last night for William Cook, the Sheffield-based steel castings group, after rival Triplex Lloyd said it would allow its pounds 74m offer to lapse tomorrow. Triplex’s decision to walk away clears the path for Andrew Cook, executive chairman of William Cook, to take the company private through an pounds 80m management buyout backed by venture capitalists Electra Fleming.
It is the second time in a week that a hostile takeover in the normally sleepy engineering sector has failed following the eleventh-hour appearance of a “white knight” investor. FKI withdrew its bid for Newman Tonks after US industrial equipment group Ingersoll-Rand tabled a higher, agreed offer.”We correctly identified that William Cook was an undervalued company and would have liked to have acquired it at a price that we could have justified to our shareholders,” said Colin Cooke, chairman of Triplex Lloyd. “In the event this was not possible.”However, the war of words between the two sides continued right up until the end with the Cook camp sounding anything but magnanimous in victory.”We are obviously delighted that Triplex has seen sense,” said a spokesman.”Their tactics were reprehensible but we won the argument.”Triplex’s decision to withdraw its cash and shares offer came a day after it and Citigate, its public relations adviser, were rebuked by the Takeover Panel for leaking confidential documents to the press about William Cook.But it was an indication on the same day by Electra Fleming that it would come back with a second buyout offer if Triplex raised its bid again that probably secured William Cook’s independence.Analysts feared that Triplex, having already raised its bid once, would over-stretch itself in trying to trump Electra’s 425p cash offer The management buyout still awaits shareholder approval..